Peer-to-peer networking has altered the basic notions of how computers share data. In a more traditional data sharing paradigm, computers share information in a structured manner where one computer is a server and another computer is a client. This traditional concept is known as the “client-server” model. Although the manner in which a data transfer takes place is different, peer-to-peer networking and client-sever transactions typically both rely on a ubiquitous computer data network, for example a local area network or a wide area network (e.g. the Internet). One distinguishing characteristic of the peer-to-peer model vis-à-vis the client-server model is that a computer operating in a peer-to-peer configuration is capable of acting both as a client and as a server, depending upon a particular data transaction. For example, when a computer in a peer-to-peer network needs data, that computer can operate as a client. The same computer can also provide data as a server when called upon to do so by another computer communicatively associated with the first computer in a peer-to-peer network.
Peer-to-peer networking has gained wide popularity as a means for sharing files. Peer-to-peer networking is especially popular in those instances when the shared files are media content files, for example audio content and video content files. One aspect of such file sharing is that users are able to specify what files are desired and then search for the files on other computers that are attached to a peer-to-peer network. The standard mechanisms for discovering files in a peer-to-peer network works fairly well because the computers attached to the peer-to-peer network are typically available when a search for a desired file is performed.
With the proliferation of mobile devices, many users of such devices attempt to share files with each other using a wireless connection. For example, a user of a digital music device may want to share a music file with another user. Up until now, both users would need to collaborate with each other to affect the transfer. Cell phone users may want to share ring-tones or photographs. Again, both users would need to agree to the transfer and collaborate to see the transfer through to fruition. The need for such collaboration could be substantially reduced if peer-to-peer networking could be used between wireless devices.
Unfortunately, the notion of peer-to-peer networking breaks down in the realm of wireless devices. One reason for this is the fact that mobile devices maintain only a transient connection with other mobile devices. This is especially true when the mobile devices interact with each other in local networking structures such as Blue Tooth and 802.11 wireless networks that do not bridge over to a wide area network. As such, it is only when two wireless devices are in proximity to each other that a local connection between them can be formed. As such, file sharing through peer-to-peer networking is limited by the short duration and limited bandwidth of a connection established between such devices. In fact, a peer-to-peer network has little chance of operating in a realm where the network is only transiently present because there is simply no means for discovering file resources in the usual peer-to-peer manner. Any attempt to search for a required file would be limited in scope to other wireless devices proximate to the device requesting the file. Another problem with any type of file sharing is that of piracy of copyrighted content. The use of any peer-to-peer networking to share copyrighted files, e.g. music files in the form of MP3, promotes copyright infringement.